CB: …Waihee warned at a public talk Thursday in Honolulu, opponents of Hawaiian rights might use a new constitutional convention to overturn the laws that have sought to improve the lives of the islands’ indigenous people.

“I think one of the values of the con con is the ability to bring a lot of new people into the political system, and so it will give a lot of people participation,” Waihee said. “So, you know, you get all these civic lessons. But in terms of the substance, if I knew then what I know now, certain provisions would have been written slightly differently.”

A primary example of what Waihee would have tried to change was language applied to the transfer of ceded land revenues from the state to OHA. Ceded lands refers to 1.8 million acres transferred (some say stolen) to the United States at the time of the 1898 annexation. The lands were known as Crown Lands and Government Lands and were owned by the Kingdom of Hawaii.

Waihee III explained that by inserting four words into the convention amendment regarding OHA’s funding — “as provided by law” — delegates inadvertently “opened the door to the redoing of most of the intentions of what the con con was about.”

In other words, the four words gave leverage to legislators and lawyers seeking to interpret state and federal law in the interest of other groups.

As transformative as the ’78 Con Con was, Waihee argued that Hawaiians have actually lost ground since then. In the Trump era, he said Hawaiians could risk losing more rights under a new constitutional convention.

“I don’t know, maybe this is a dangerous time to put anything back to a vote,” he said….

Waihee described the time as “wonderful,” even magical.

“There was a kind of innocence in the general public,” he recalled. “They wanted to help, they wanted to do stuff, and there was a kind of reluctance to say anything bad about Hawaiians publicly.”…

Waihee credited in particular the leadership of the late Frenchy DeSoto, known widely as Aunty Frenchy, and a coalition that came to be known as Palaka Power. DeSoto would later lead OHA.

Among the young Hawaiians recruited by DeSoto to work the convention was Walter Ritte Jr. of Molokai….

ILind: …It sounds to me that state auditor Les Kondo has overreacted to the public disclosure of a draft audit prepared by his office.

Last week, Civil Beat published a story based on a draft copy of a critical audit of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. According to the story by CB reporter Anita Hofschneider, the audit found a pattern of inappropriate spending with little oversight.

Among the findings: OHA trustees tripled their personal allowances and are spending them on questionable expenses such as fancy dinners, international flights, seating upgrades, religious ceremonies, political events and medical expenses for the relative of a trustee.

The results of the initial analysis portray an agency where a handful of officials have power to disburse large sums of money with few checks and balances. Some even told auditors that it’s hard to say no to funding requests that they know don’t meet requirements.

At the time the story was published, the draft audit was already in the hands of OHA administrators, and was on the agenda for discussion at a board of trustees meeting that same day.

HPR: The size of a residential structure on O’ahu will be temporarily limited based on FAR - floor area ratio to lot size. A home no larger than 2,625 square feet will be allowed on a 3,500 square foot lot and a tiered system for houses on larger properties will be limited at 50 to 70 percent FAR….

Planning Committee vice chair Kimberly Pine expressed some concerns and would like to survey residents of her district.

“Just in my own calculations, just briefly, would negatively affect a lot of good families in my district. Like a 4 bedroom house being a monster house in some of my areas.”…Pine also wants to exempt residential care homes. …

Planning Committee chair, Ikaika Anderson, recommends the temporary moratorium on residential buildings be effective upon signing of the bill into law. He will also try to fast-track the measure.

“I would ask Council Chair Menor to schedule a special Council meeting next week Tuesday, February 13th.”

SA: Hawaii’s long-standing affordable housing shortage is notorious. Discussions at the state and county levels about how to actually produce more housing have spanned many years and produced a variety of policies intended to increase production.

Despite the best of intentions, we continue to fall further and further behind.

The rules relating to reserved housing proposed by the Hawaii Community Development Authority (HCDA) would not have helped the situation, and I applaud Gov. David Ige for sending them back to the board….

…The fact that production of privately funded rental housing is minimal or non-existent can be attributed in part to the underlying economics of developing such units. Increasing the regulatory period to 30 years would impede rather than encourage and incentivize the production of such rental housing….

SA: The Honolulu Police Department last year fired or recommended for firing police officers in 22 cases ranging from sex assault to kidnapping and malicious use of physical force to use of illicit drugs, according to an annual report the agency submitted last week to the state Legislature….

Of the 22 cases, eight officers were discharged, while the rest remain either in arbitration or have cases pending in some way….

In all, 76 officers were disciplined for misconduct in 2017…

A 2016 Honolulu Star-Advertiser investigation found that nearly 1 in 6 of HPD’s 2,099 officers had been taken to court one or more times since joining the force, and since 2010 one HPD officer has been arrested or prosecuted every 40 days….

Here is what the eight officers who were fired last year did:

>> Made unwanted sexual advances on a female while off duty, including “remarks and physical contact of a sexual nature.”

>> Concealed items and did not pay for them before leaving a store. The officer also used a credit card in another person’s name without permission.

>> Entered a van without permission and maliciously used physical force against the occupant. Also unlawfully used an HPD-issued Taser and failed to notify a supervisor.

>> Visited multiple physicians and lied to obtain multiple prescriptions and large quantities of drugs.

>> Was verbally abusive and threatened his wife. Also made unwanted phone calls and text messages.

>> Offered to use police powers to help a female suspect in exchange for sexual favors, then used the departmental computer to give confidential information to the suspect as part of a scheme to defraud and deprive through bribery.

>> Assaulted wife during an argument and was found in possession of illegal narcotics and drug paraphernalia.

>> Handcuffed a man and drove him to a place where he threatened him and damaged his property. Did not submit appropriate incident reports documenting his actions.

In addition, nine officers received suspensions, ranging from three days to 20 days, for failing to properly investigate an off-duty shooting incident, and at least five officers got between three days and 20 days for their roles in covering up a motor vehicle collision involving an officer….

That information would go to the Department of Education so the state could do a background check before approving or denying the applicant.

"If a parent that has a history of abuse and neglect wants to pull the child out of school and remove them from that layer of protection this piece of legislation would close that loophole," Kahele said.

But home schooling advocate Lora Burbage, of Christian Homeschoolers of Hawaii, said Kahele's proposal is flawed and unfairly singles out home-schooling families without including all parents of school-age children..

"If you begin to allow the government to begin policing --- and they're not looking at the net of the biggest group of child abusers --- then we're being targeted, we're being discriminated against," she said.

Statistics show that about 7,000 children in Hawaii are educated at home.

Kahele said background checks would begin with parents who notify the DOE of their intent to home-school then eventually include all home-schooling families. …

KGI: …Gov. David Ige will be holding a talk story session with Kauai teachers today from 4:30 to 6 p.m. in the Kauai High School library….

The meeting is closed to the public. It will be limited to Hawaii State Teachers Association Kauai Chapter head representatives from each school, the HSTA vice president, members of the HSTA Kauai Chapter executive board, and about 15 to 20 other teachers….

CB: …DTS’ proposal would raise the price of a Handi-Van trip to $3 in October and then $4 the following July. It also calls for a $1 “low-income fare” for qualifying riders starting in October and eventually increasing by 25 cents. That discount fare would be limited to 80 single rides a year, however…..

"I had listened to many complaints by many employees who had been victimized by complaints that were made. They were complaining that it was being squashed."

Other public safety workers who've sued the department and have filed complaints agree an audit is long overdue.

"I would say that anyone out there who feels like they've been wronged or has a complaint or valid complaint should step forward and hopefully this will be the platform for them to do that," said Keiron Pratt, a former deputy sheriff who has sued the department claiming discrimination because he's gay. One lawsuit was dismissed. The second got him a $35,000 settlement. The current lawsuit claims retaliation.

They and others met with Rhoads and other lawmakers to introduce a bill.

"We checked to see when the last performance audit was several years ago in 2010. I felt like the allegations were serious enough that someone should look into them," said Rhoads…..

According to her probation officer, Kema was “called for random drug testing on Friday, February 2, 2018, but the defendant failed to report that day. She was given a two-hour window to provide a urine sample, but was only able to provide a small urine sample, which was inadequate in size.”

This is Kema’s third violation since she was re-sentenced to HOPE probation last October.

Court documents also claim that Kema showed up late to a scheduled appointment, and did not report immediately upon release from custody.

Kema was placed on HOPE probation after testing positive for marijuana multiple times while on regular probation….

HNN: …The officers allegedly forced the 37-year-old to lick a public urinal after they were called to the area for a trespassing case. The FBI is investigating.

The man has been involved with the criminal justice system for most of his adult life.

But experts say his history, which includes 18 priors, is not an excuse for police to abuse him.

(Why did the soft-on-crime crowd let this guy out? If he were in prison where he belongs, he would have been safe from police abuse. Who will hold the soft-on-crime crowd responsible for forcing him out of prison?)

Added Aiu: "Even though this particular individual was not the most upstanding citizen, the police have a procedure to follow and we must always the rules and regulations by the department by the law enforcement authority we are working for and make sure everyone's civil rights are met and are respected."

A fifth officer who responded to the call is the one who notified command about the alleged misconduct….

Meanwhile, the man at the center of the case is back behind bars.

He was put back in OCCC for violating probation. He is part of the HOPE program and was recently referred to a special court for people in drug treatment….

HNN: …According to Mayor Caldwell’s spokesperson, WSL officials showed up at his office unannounced after missing a Nov. 9 deadline to amend their permit applications.

Andrew Perreira says the mayor believes the WSL trying to strong-arm the city into meeting its demands before it has even secured the necessary permits, but that the city is “sticking to the rules.”

Perreira says the city has to be fair to the community as a whole, which suffers the impacts of increased traffic through their North Shore neighborhoods as a result of surfing competitions. He also maintained the city does not guarantee permits or give preference to returning events.

Mayor Caldwell sent a statement later Monday afternoon saying WSL implied they may not return to Oahu in the next three years if their request is not granted.

"The city's decision regarding this matter is about fairness, not money. If the changes WSL is requesting are indeed minor as the company claims, than the drastic action that is being threatened should not be taken. The city appreciates the contributions of WSL and hopes it will not jeopardize the relationship based with Hawaii based on what it says are minor changes," Caldwell said in a statement.

WSL officials beg to differ — citing the 47 consecutive years they’ve held the Pipe Master on the North Shore, which they describe as one of the longest running and most iconic events Hawaii has offered the world. They also point to the estimated $7 million a year WSL pays to stage and promote events in Hawaii, and says the events themselves generate about $20 million in economic impacts….

FT: Update, 7:37 p.m. Hawaii time:Nate Carlson confirmed via text that the bill is dead. "We just defeated the Senate Bill!!! Gabe and Miyuu gave testimony and they were eloquent and well spoken. So proud of the Hawaii kids... the thousands of written testimonies and petitioning told them enough and [they] were going to kill it on the spot. Victory for runners!" …

WE: The Federal Emergency Management Agency's director of continuity communications told congressional investigators on Tuesday that FEMA was re-evaluating its training programs and public awareness strategies, after it took 38 minutes for Hawaii emergency officials to correct a false incoming ballistic missile alert sent in January.

"When there is that type of uncertainty in the community that points back, in my opinion, to some of our training offerings," Antwane Johnson told the House Homeland Security Committee's Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness.

"And that's where we are going to address this, is through training and increased awareness, and working with our federal, state and local partners," Johnson continued.

Earlier, fellow witness Lisa Fowlkes, the Federal Communications Commission's Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau chief, told the panel the commission's preliminary investigation into the Jan. 13 event found the correction's delay was compounded by Hawaii Emergency Management Agency's failure to contemplate "the possibility that they would ever issue a false alert."

"And so they did not have protocols in place, standard operating procedures to address that," Fowlkes said. "They had to figure out what code to issue, they talked to FEMA personnel on what was about a 45-second phone call, then somebody had to go log in and actually write the correction message because they did not have a template for that."…

Solar Schemers: We’ll Jack up Prices and Nobody Will Care Because Electric is So High

CB: …Colin Yost, chief operating officer of RevoluSun LLC, a Honolulu solar company. Hawaii residents pay the highest rates in the nation for electricity, Yost said. And that means solar systems will still be a good deal.

“Even if costs of panels go up, consumers will still save substantially” by installing a rooftop solar system, Yost said. “It will still be a lot cheaper than the utility.”….